Cold home warmed by Share the Warmth

By TONIA KULP, Guest Contributer

Monday, November 26, 2012

When I called Clara to talk with her about Share the Warmth, I introduced myself as calling from United Way.

Clara said she has known about United Way and its partners “and all that good work” we do since she was a little girl. Clara is now 84 years young and lives in Kennett Square. She is not quite sure how old her home is but she was certain of one thing — it was cold. Clara’s furnace wasn’t working properly and her single pane windows were original to the home.

Jay from Good Neighbors met with Clara to talk about how they might be able to help her with funds from the Share the Warmth program. Clara had spent a great deal of her Social Security income on just unclogging the line in her furnace that in fact needed to be replaced. Good Neighbors also replaced her failing oil tank and single pane windows, and installed a French Drain in Clara’s basement to keep the moisture out of her home.

Clara has been giving back her whole life and looks forward to reading the wonderful stories in the paper each holiday season. She was thrilled that this year her story might inspire someone to give to the Share the Warmth program.

Clara originally called Good Works in Coatesville because she had heard first hand about their good work when they helped a friend of her daughter’s a few years back. The Coatesville non-profit informed Clara that Good Neighbors was close to home for her in Kennett and gave Good Neighbors her information. The power of collaboration and information sharing between United Way funded partners is crucial to our community’s success.

“I didn’t know someone like me could get help like this. My home is warm and my windows are secure. The people from Good Neighbors were so helpful and they also shared with me other resources in the community that might help me or some of my friends.”

Clara’s furnace was one of 84 repairs/replacements made since 2005 through the Share the Warmth program. Her oil tank was filled and became one of 43 in the community. There have been 11 chimney repairs and 67 replaced roofs.

Donations in any amount to Share the Warmth are sincerely appreciated. Contributions to the program can be addressed to: Share the Warmth, c/o Daily Local News, 250 N. Bradford Avenue, West Chester, PA 19382. Attention: Andy Hachadorian, editor.